Code Project or books
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I have found that a lot of the articles on CP cover rather useful things. I personally like to read books etc. when learning a new technique, but that is because CP does not provide great information for PHP devs (but if we had our own forum....), but I was wondering if you .Net guys prefer CP to books with regards to new techniques etc. I do make a point to read the C++ articles though.
Bradml wrote:
but I was wondering if you .Net guys prefer CP to books with regards to new techniques etc.
I've found that most technical books are so dumbed down that they are worthless. I don't know who buys these things, and I don't know why publishers have decided that the primary audience is the neophyte. Actually, I do know why--because technical people aren't the best writers, but in my limited experience, publishers provide editors that are even less technical. The result is a useless book. But who buys them is a mystery to me still. So, I tend to look only at very technical books, typically written by the creator of the technology/language. Another disqualifier is books where half the print or more is page long code examples. It's pathetic how publishers use that technique to fluff up a book. I find the Internet in general a much better resource for technical information. I do however greatly miss the San Diego Technical Book Store, living here in farm land, NY! Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith -
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Ok you are stuck on a deserted island......
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
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I am in the works of devising a devilishy evil plan, to make an offer Chris CAN'T refuse! I am thinking I will trade Kyle's head for a PHP forum.
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
Bradml wrote:
I am in the works of devising a devilishy evil plan, to make an offer Chris CAN'T refuse! I am thinking I will trade Kyle's head for a PHP forum.
Suddenly I feel the stirrings of an interest in PHP welling up.:-D
the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before. -
Bradml wrote:
I am in the works of devising a devilishy evil plan, to make an offer Chris CAN'T refuse! I am thinking I will trade Kyle's head for a PHP forum.
Suddenly I feel the stirrings of an interest in PHP welling up.:-D
the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before. -
Jon Sagara wrote:
Oh, well in that case, lots of hot women and cold beer.
Amen!
:josh: My WPF Blog[^]
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle -
I have found that a lot of the articles on CP cover rather useful things. I personally like to read books etc. when learning a new technique, but that is because CP does not provide great information for PHP devs (but if we had our own forum....), but I was wondering if you .Net guys prefer CP to books with regards to new techniques etc. I do make a point to read the C++ articles though.
I use both. I tend to love the books for getting into a subject, but find the CP to be specifically technical. Also, when I commute, I cannot read CP, but can read a book. I think the important thing with tech books is taking time to get the right one. When I go to buy a new tech book I can spend hours just looking for one that meets my learning style and also does not gloss over the simple stuff I can find anywhere. I prefer it if it has "I did not know I could do that that way" material inside. I usually stick with Apress, sometimes WROX and anything in black and red by Microsoft (Usually). I stay away from Orielly as I think these books are way over rated and are sheer coffee leg replacements. Aaron
_____________________________________________________________________ Our developers never release code. Rather, it tends to escape, pillaging the countryside all around. The Enlightenment Project (paraphrased comment) Visit Me at GISDevCafe
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I have found that a lot of the articles on CP cover rather useful things. I personally like to read books etc. when learning a new technique, but that is because CP does not provide great information for PHP devs (but if we had our own forum....), but I was wondering if you .Net guys prefer CP to books with regards to new techniques etc. I do make a point to read the C++ articles though.
Both really. The problem that I've tended to find in books though is that they are very generic, and focus on very high level issues. Which is fine if you're skim-learning something. I find that the focussed approach to individual problems on CP is a much better approach for finding how to solve real issues though.
the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before. -
Bradml wrote:
but I was wondering if you .Net guys prefer CP to books with regards to new techniques etc.
I've found that most technical books are so dumbed down that they are worthless. I don't know who buys these things, and I don't know why publishers have decided that the primary audience is the neophyte. Actually, I do know why--because technical people aren't the best writers, but in my limited experience, publishers provide editors that are even less technical. The result is a useless book. But who buys them is a mystery to me still. So, I tend to look only at very technical books, typically written by the creator of the technology/language. Another disqualifier is books where half the print or more is page long code examples. It's pathetic how publishers use that technique to fluff up a book. I find the Internet in general a much better resource for technical information. I do however greatly miss the San Diego Technical Book Store, living here in farm land, NY! Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithMarc, I agree with you that the bookshelves are flooded with "XYZ for Dummies" (whether the books are actually named like that is irrelevant). However, as you mentioned, there are diamonds in the rough. Those more than make up for the deluge of crappy books that teach morons how to be hackers. Here are some diamonds, to me: Design Patterns (Gamma, et al). Inside C# (Archer & Whitechapel). Applications = Code + Markup (Petzold). Advanced .NET Programming (Robinson). Essential .NET (Box & Sells). Those books have helped open my eyes to new worlds of software, and I'll never regret reading them. I regret wasting my time with other books, but that's life. The same goes for CP articles.
:josh: My WPF Blog[^]
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle -
I use both. I tend to love the books for getting into a subject, but find the CP to be specifically technical. Also, when I commute, I cannot read CP, but can read a book. I think the important thing with tech books is taking time to get the right one. When I go to buy a new tech book I can spend hours just looking for one that meets my learning style and also does not gloss over the simple stuff I can find anywhere. I prefer it if it has "I did not know I could do that that way" material inside. I usually stick with Apress, sometimes WROX and anything in black and red by Microsoft (Usually). I stay away from Orielly as I think these books are way over rated and are sheer coffee leg replacements. Aaron
_____________________________________________________________________ Our developers never release code. Rather, it tends to escape, pillaging the countryside all around. The Enlightenment Project (paraphrased comment) Visit Me at GISDevCafe
Aaron VanWieren wrote:
I usually stick with Apress
I happen to have 8 different Apress books at the moment.
Aaron VanWieren wrote:
Orielly
X|
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
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Both really. The problem that I've tended to find in books though is that they are very generic, and focus on very high level issues. Which is fine if you're skim-learning something. I find that the focussed approach to individual problems on CP is a much better approach for finding how to solve real issues though.
the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before. -
What is your prefernece though?
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
I love books. But my wife hates them because I leave them sitting out and stacked around the furniture.
Mike in NH
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I love books. But my wife hates them because I leave them sitting out and stacked around the furniture.
Mike in NH
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Aaron VanWieren wrote:
I usually stick with Apress
I happen to have 8 different Apress books at the moment.
Aaron VanWieren wrote:
Orielly
X|
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
I have got way to many books period. I was originally working in vb6 then c#. Built up large general and specialty libraries for both of those and then last year started to work with Java, spring, hibernate ect., So got another large slew of books on those topics. Now I am back in .Net land. I still occasionally pick up books, but these tend to be the ones that are extremely topic specialized and not so broad (CLR inside out Microsoft). The other book focus I have garnered lately is in architecture and general development, but most of these use java as their source. Just Rambling Aaron
_____________________________________________________________________ Our developers never release code. Rather, it tends to escape, pillaging the countryside all around. The Enlightenment Project (paraphrased comment) Visit Me at GISDevCafe
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Bradml wrote:
I am in the works of devising a devilishy evil plan, to make an offer Chris CAN'T refuse! I am thinking I will trade Kyle's head for a PHP forum.
Suddenly I feel the stirrings of an interest in PHP welling up.:-D
the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before. -
I have found that a lot of the articles on CP cover rather useful things. I personally like to read books etc. when learning a new technique, but that is because CP does not provide great information for PHP devs (but if we had our own forum....), but I was wondering if you .Net guys prefer CP to books with regards to new techniques etc. I do make a point to read the C++ articles though.
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Not always, if you find a book that targets a specific field then they can delve quite deep into details.
Brad Australian - Christian Graus on "Best books for VBscript" A big thick one, so you can whack yourself on the head with it.
Oh I agree, but I do tend to find that they are the exception and not the norm. For instance, I have a deep interest in graphics programming and yet there are probably less than 10 books that go in any depth into the areas that I am interested in. However, I can look at articles that people have written here on CP (and in related items) that are of particular interest. Part of the problem that I have as well, is that often it seems that the people who write the books aren't interested in the real issues and problems behind different technologies. While there are some articles that are like that, I haven't had to pay good money to find that out, whereas with a book I will have bought it and then ended up frustrated when it doesn't meet my expectations. As an example, I bought the Petzold Windows Forms book when it first came out. What a waste of money that was. Yet, I have also bought the Sells book on Windows Forms and that one is brilliant.
the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before. -
Bradml wrote:
but I was wondering if you .Net guys prefer CP to books with regards to new techniques etc.
I've found that most technical books are so dumbed down that they are worthless. I don't know who buys these things, and I don't know why publishers have decided that the primary audience is the neophyte. Actually, I do know why--because technical people aren't the best writers, but in my limited experience, publishers provide editors that are even less technical. The result is a useless book. But who buys them is a mystery to me still. So, I tend to look only at very technical books, typically written by the creator of the technology/language. Another disqualifier is books where half the print or more is page long code examples. It's pathetic how publishers use that technique to fluff up a book. I find the Internet in general a much better resource for technical information. I do however greatly miss the San Diego Technical Book Store, living here in farm land, NY! Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithProgrammers and other computer people are very much like the general population insofar that we all have some degree of knowledge about computing. The higher up the knowledge ladder you are the greater is you understanding of the subject consequently any technical books that you might consider buying must provide you with the knowledge that is by definition more specialist. By the same token, beginner or intermediate level books would not be of much use to such a person but may prove indispensable to those whose knowledge is less than the level the book addresses. As such, all such books have a role to fill. As far as authors and their publishers are concerned, if they do not have a track record in authoring/publishing technical books then the resulting book could very well be considered as poor and not sell so it is in the interest of both author and publisher to get the book done properly. Regarding code samples, I agree a lot of space in books are wasted. It is easy to attach a CDROM of code used in conjuntion within the book. There are exceptions such as the need to get a particular point across when discussing or teaching some important aspect, then code to demonstrate that particular point might be preferential rather than commonplace. The internet is indeed a great source and wealth of knowledge, but sometimes you find that the resource you are looking at is either plain wrong or misleading and that can be damaging. My local bookshop closed down early last year. Amazon and the likes have driven many of these books shops out of business - they just can't complete.
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Oh I agree, but I do tend to find that they are the exception and not the norm. For instance, I have a deep interest in graphics programming and yet there are probably less than 10 books that go in any depth into the areas that I am interested in. However, I can look at articles that people have written here on CP (and in related items) that are of particular interest. Part of the problem that I have as well, is that often it seems that the people who write the books aren't interested in the real issues and problems behind different technologies. While there are some articles that are like that, I haven't had to pay good money to find that out, whereas with a book I will have bought it and then ended up frustrated when it doesn't meet my expectations. As an example, I bought the Petzold Windows Forms book when it first came out. What a waste of money that was. Yet, I have also bought the Sells book on Windows Forms and that one is brilliant.
the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before. -
Marc, I agree with you that the bookshelves are flooded with "XYZ for Dummies" (whether the books are actually named like that is irrelevant). However, as you mentioned, there are diamonds in the rough. Those more than make up for the deluge of crappy books that teach morons how to be hackers. Here are some diamonds, to me: Design Patterns (Gamma, et al). Inside C# (Archer & Whitechapel). Applications = Code + Markup (Petzold). Advanced .NET Programming (Robinson). Essential .NET (Box & Sells). Those books have helped open my eyes to new worlds of software, and I'll never regret reading them. I regret wasting my time with other books, but that's life. The same goes for CP articles.
:josh: My WPF Blog[^]
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. - AristotleJosh Smith wrote:
Those books have helped open my eyes to new worlds of software
Two books that changed how I thought about software: Vital Dust by Christian de Duve The Astonishing Hypothesis by Francis Crick I tend to look outside of the software field for ideas. :) Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith